Tuesday, March 28

Rudolph Havermann genannt Draht

My great-great-grandfather Rudolph was born in 1800, likely in Körbecke, and died in nearby Neheim in 1869. The use of genannt in my father's ancestors' names has always been bothersome to me and there are (German) explanations of its usage but I like to think that the Draht here is just an acknowledgement of Rudolph's mother's maiden name. I come to write about this man because of the mortality of his eight known-to-me children.

Rudolph's first marriage to Maria Christina Zentini (1811-1848) produced five offspring: Joseph (1837-1840), Heinrich (1839-1876), Friederich (1842-1842), Ferdinand (1843-1854), and Joseph (again, 1846-1864). Rudolph's second marriage to Maria Theresia Biermann (1813-1867) produced three more offspring: Anton (1850-1854), Heinrich Franz (1854-1854), and Maria Antonia (1858-1869). Wow, only one of these eight made it to age 18: my great-grandfather Heinrich — who died at age 36. Lucky man. Lucky me!

I've got Rudolph embedded in an extended Havermann family text chart and, as well, in a slightly more limited pictorial chart.